Focus on tribal, LWE-hit areas as Cabinet okays rural connectivity boost

The Cabinet Wednesday approved and extended schemes to improve road and telecom connectivity in villages, especially in tribal regions and areas affected by left-wing extremism (LWE), Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said.

As per one of the decisions, 7,287 villages from 44 aspirational districts in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha will get new telecom towers. The project will cost Rs 6,466 crore and is expected to be completed within 18 month.

Thakur said the villages will get 4G connectivity and be able to access e-governance facilities.